Do you have a maker space?
Do you provide STEM-based programs?
Do you work with community partners?
Do you have afterschool programs and services?
If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, I have another question for you, "why?"
The reason I ask is that a lot of times I hear library staff working for and with teens talk about the great programs they sponsor and develop with teens - robot making and coding and creative writing - but I don't hear much about the why. And, it's that why that is most important. I know it might not seem like it, but it is. Why? Because it's the why that helps make sure that the programs are going to help teens grow up to be successful academically and in their personal lives. Because it's the why that is what funders and elected officials and community members are going to want to know in order to decide if your program is worth funding or supporting in another way.
Consider these two ways of talking about what you make available for and with teens during afterschool time:
Here's what's on the calendar this month for and with teens in Anytown - building apps for your smartphone, printing action figures with 3D printers, and stop-motion video.
OR
At the Anytown library we strive to give teens opportunities to gain critical 21st century skills like design and critical thinking, leadership, collaboration, and decision-making. The way we do this is to sponsor programs where they get to design their own apps for their smartphones. In this workshop they do everything from planning the look and feel of the app, deciding who the audience is, and coding the app for different devices. We also give them the chance to design 3D action figures and print them out with our 3D printer. But, before they actually do that they learn the steps in the design process and have to go through several iterations of ideas and test out their plans with their peers. We also, work with teens on stop-motion video and in those projects they work in teams to design and develop their idea, test out their video with other teens, and write reviews of each others works.
See the difference?
Of course the first example is quick and easy and the second is definitely not a succinct elevator pitch. But, the second will actually show the impacts your afterschool programs strive to achieve. And it's those impacts that stakeholders and decision-makers are going to be most interested in.
So, as you are planning and implementing your afterschool program of service this year - and even beyond that - for each project before you even get down to the nitty gritty of what the program will entail in terms of timing and staffing and supplies, etc. Ask yourself, "what are we trying to achieve for and with teens" through this program of service?" And, "How are we going to know if we have achieved (or are achieving) the why?"
Then, as you continue planning ask yourself regularly, "Is this going to help us meet the why of this afterschool program?" If not, then you'll want to re-think. If so, then you get to keep going. And, then when the program is over, and even during it, you can continue to ask yourself, "Are we reaching the why?" And, "How can we tell we are reaching the why?" If you are reaching the why, that's great. If not, it's time to revise and re-think.
And, don't forget that every time you talk about your teen services include the why of what you do. You'll discover you change the conversation and it's likely that those you talk with will actually start to think differently about what you do and how you help to improve the lives of teens in your community.
Learn more about developing outcomes - which is really what the why is all about - by checking out:
For years and years and years (I've worked in libraries for a long-time) I've talked about and heard about the importance of school and public library collaboration. And, over the years, I've talked about and heard about how hard it is to be successful in this area. It actually seems to me that the challenges and barriers that I've been talking about and hearing about for a couple of decades haven't really changed. And, they certainly haven't gone away.
The fact that conversations remain the same over a long period of time, got me thinking - Maybe we are going about this the wrong way. Maybe, instead of the focus being on what we regularly call school and public library collaboration (the thing we do), what we really need to focus on is what is required in order to have positive lasting outcomes/impacts for students and teachers (what we want to achieve). This was brought home to me this week when I read the post Building Relationships Through the Use of Technology by George Couros. The ideas embedded in the image he included in that post (shown on the left) really resonated with me.
What if as the new school year starts you didn't talk about or focus on the act of collaborating with your school or public library, but instead talked about and worked towards answering the question, What should the outcome of public library school library collaboration be for students, teachers, parents, and school staff? What would be different and would you be more successful by the end of the school year? Taking the Couros post image as a model would you go from "Good Answers" like:
- Making sure that library staff know about assignments
- Being able to teach school staff (teachers and administrators) about library resources
- Making sure to purchase materials that support teacher/student needs
- Being able to add website links that support teacher/student needs
- Having the chance to work on lessons with teachers
To Better Answers like:
- Build relationships for long-lasting success within the public/school library community
- Change cultures
- Learn from each other - students, teachers, parents, administrators and other school and public library staff
- Develop outcomes and stories that can be used in advocacy efforts
- Drive change
- Lead
- Support learning of students no matter what.
Of course, as with many things in life, this is often easier said than done. But, it's doable, I'm certain. For example, this year instead of going into classrooms or talking with your counterpart colleagues about the resources you have for students and teachers, what if you had conversations that focused on what teachers, students, administrators, staff are:
- Working on
- What are they successful in/at
- What they are finding difficult to accomplish
- What would they like to be able to do more easily
- What would they like to change
Would that lead to stronger relationships with everyone and as a result a better chance to bring about positive outcomes? As you think about the outcomes and the conversations you can have with your library counterpart and school personnel and parents and students remember, the outcomes are what the students, teachers, staff, and parents gain. While through these gains library staff might find that their resources and expertise and time are used successfully - the focus of the outcomes you work towards in this area should be about the people you serve, not about you and your library. The outcome is in what changes in the academic and formal and informal learning lives of those you work with. For more information and resources about outcomes, visit YALSA's wiki.
I don't think the idea of collaboration is a bad thing. But, I do think that we spend a lot of time talking about the thing - collaboration - and not what the impact of the work needs to be for students and teachers and families. Change the conversation, listen to those you want to serve before you tell them what you can do for them, build relationships, focus on the goal for the user, and see what happens.
